OP
MSilvia
Contributor
Pat, can you post directions to the dock?
Thanks.
Thanks.
Harbor charter
- Thread starter MSilvia
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When you enter the marina you will pass a security shack on the left. Tell the guard you are meeting me for a charter. Also ask the guard where he would like you to park. Sometimes you get lucky and he has you park up front. Sometimes not. Anyway, after you pass the security shack turn right and you will see the pier. There are carts for you to use by the gate which blocks the pier. The boat is located on the first dock on the left right next to the houseboat. If you have any problems please give me a call. P.
OP
MSilvia
Contributor
We got out for two dives on saturday, and as nice as it was to get offshore and away from the humidity, it was even nicer diving on two wrecks I hadn't visited before.
Jimmie and I splashed shortly after Allison and Calvin, and we were suprised to meet them on the mooring line already making their ascent. Apparently Calvin had a problem with a freeflowing octo and aborted after a few minutes on the bottom. We checked that they were okay, and continued down to where the line was tied off to the fallen mast at about 75'. There was a lot of growth on the wreckage, but visibility was only about 10', so when we got to the end of the mast and didn't see much more of it, we figured the wreck must be broken up, and Jimmie tied his reel in so we could do a little exploring while I tried unsuccessfully to get my camera sorted. I had closed the housing outdoors on a warm humid day, so the inside fogged up on my as soon as it hit the water..
Soon after we got away from the mast, Jimmie found a clay pipe on the bottom. When he showed it to me, I took a quick look around and was lucky enough to find another nearby it. Not as lucky as Jimmie though... his has the owner's initials on it! We continued on, and I found a couple of scallops and a beautiful anemonae I couldn't get a clear photo of, then returned to the mast. We followed it in the opposite direction for a bit, and found the majority of the wreck was on that end. I was running low on air though, and we turned rather than explore further.
We had both been noticing the sound of an increasingly loud motor noise, and as we approached the ascent line it had built to a bone shaking thrumming noise. Apparently an LNG tanker had passed close by, but such are the tradeoffs when diving along a shipping channel.
The City of Salisbury is now one of my favorite sites in New England. The 400+ foot ship hit a previously uncharted pinnacle and eventually broke up. As you know, fish like structure, and they tend to congregate around things like pinnacles and shipwrecks. When the wreck is broken up on a pinnacle, you can expect a lot of marine life. We saw dozens of kinds of fish, including black sea bass, cod, and a flounder the size of bathmat. We poked around throught some wreckage in the relatively shallow and well lit water above the thermocline, and did some lobster hunting. There were many large lobsters, and almost as many obscure artifacts lying in the broken bottom terrain, but I didn't see anything worth saving, and I came back with a single keeper... which was plenty for me, as my fiance is allergic to lobsters.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable couple of dives, and I look forward to diving with Boston Diver Services again.
Jimmie and I splashed shortly after Allison and Calvin, and we were suprised to meet them on the mooring line already making their ascent. Apparently Calvin had a problem with a freeflowing octo and aborted after a few minutes on the bottom. We checked that they were okay, and continued down to where the line was tied off to the fallen mast at about 75'. There was a lot of growth on the wreckage, but visibility was only about 10', so when we got to the end of the mast and didn't see much more of it, we figured the wreck must be broken up, and Jimmie tied his reel in so we could do a little exploring while I tried unsuccessfully to get my camera sorted. I had closed the housing outdoors on a warm humid day, so the inside fogged up on my as soon as it hit the water..
Soon after we got away from the mast, Jimmie found a clay pipe on the bottom. When he showed it to me, I took a quick look around and was lucky enough to find another nearby it. Not as lucky as Jimmie though... his has the owner's initials on it! We continued on, and I found a couple of scallops and a beautiful anemonae I couldn't get a clear photo of, then returned to the mast. We followed it in the opposite direction for a bit, and found the majority of the wreck was on that end. I was running low on air though, and we turned rather than explore further.
We had both been noticing the sound of an increasingly loud motor noise, and as we approached the ascent line it had built to a bone shaking thrumming noise. Apparently an LNG tanker had passed close by, but such are the tradeoffs when diving along a shipping channel.
The City of Salisbury is now one of my favorite sites in New England. The 400+ foot ship hit a previously uncharted pinnacle and eventually broke up. As you know, fish like structure, and they tend to congregate around things like pinnacles and shipwrecks. When the wreck is broken up on a pinnacle, you can expect a lot of marine life. We saw dozens of kinds of fish, including black sea bass, cod, and a flounder the size of bathmat. We poked around throught some wreckage in the relatively shallow and well lit water above the thermocline, and did some lobster hunting. There were many large lobsters, and almost as many obscure artifacts lying in the broken bottom terrain, but I didn't see anything worth saving, and I came back with a single keeper... which was plenty for me, as my fiance is allergic to lobsters.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable couple of dives, and I look forward to diving with Boston Diver Services again.
vetdiver
Contributor
Just wanted to pipe in and say that despite our doomed first dive on the Romance, we also had a great time on Saturday. The mast of the Romance sure seemed nice (snort)...but my husband's octo was freeflowing at depth, so we called it after only 10 minutes in the water. Did Matt mention that I lost my favorite mask on entry (I know, put the mask under the hood, but I just don't like it under the hood!!!)...I've had it for 8 years, so maybe it was time for a change...anyways, should have figured that dive was gonna go bad at that point...
So, we switched out my husband's octo and spent about 50 minutes on the City of Salisbury - tied a line off and swam first South, then West on the wreckage. Lots of marine life, huge bugs! An amazing wreck.
It was a beautiful day - water was nice, no current to speak of (that I could tell on our brief sojurn) on the Romance, a bit of current on the line at CS, but only a bit of surge in the wreck. thermocline at about 35-40 ft - above this, the water was toasty, maybe high 50's, low 60's...below, it was upper 40's.
BDS was awesome - Pat is a great guy running a nice operation. We're going to try to redo this set of dives in September with him - would be nice to see a bit more of the Romance.
Nice to meet all of you - maybe we'll see you again soon.
Allison
PS - if anyone finds a black mini Magnum slightly Northeast of the Romance, can you PM me???
So, we switched out my husband's octo and spent about 50 minutes on the City of Salisbury - tied a line off and swam first South, then West on the wreckage. Lots of marine life, huge bugs! An amazing wreck.
It was a beautiful day - water was nice, no current to speak of (that I could tell on our brief sojurn) on the Romance, a bit of current on the line at CS, but only a bit of surge in the wreck. thermocline at about 35-40 ft - above this, the water was toasty, maybe high 50's, low 60's...below, it was upper 40's.
BDS was awesome - Pat is a great guy running a nice operation. We're going to try to redo this set of dives in September with him - would be nice to see a bit more of the Romance.
Nice to meet all of you - maybe we'll see you again soon.
Allison
PS - if anyone finds a black mini Magnum slightly Northeast of the Romance, can you PM me???
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I am glad you all had a great day. Thanks for the nice post. I hope to see you again soon. P.
OP
MSilvia
Contributor
I just did some quick poking around online, and it looks like the pipes Jimmie and I found are from the early to mid 1700s... much older than the Romance wreck we found them near.
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Nice find Matt! I am looking for more on Wednesday. I'll let you know if we have any luck. P.
OP
MSilvia
Contributor
Good luck!Boston Diver Services:
OP
MSilvia
Contributor
Scratch that. Upon closer inspection and additional cleaning, I found a "T D" mark on my pipe too. Since that's what Jimmie's had too, I now figure it for a maker's mark.MSilvia:
I just did a little more research, and it turns out TD stands for Thomas Dormer, who was a well known maker of quality pipes in London. He was so well known, that demand for his products greatly outstripped his ability to produce them, and "TD" pipes have since been manufactured by a number of different makers. Lower quality "TD" pipes are still made today.
The markings evolved though, and the ones like we found that have the T on one side of the stem and the D on the other with no circles, garlands, or other decorations was common among London manufacturers in the eighteenth and into the nineteenth centuries.
I think there's a good chance we found imported pipes that could well have been manufactured right around the time that Romance went down.
When I get a chance, I plan to measure the spur at the bottom of the bowl, and determine the width to length ratio. Apparently, a spur with a width to length ratio of 0.75 or higher on a "TD" pipe would mean it wasn't manufactured after 1890. I expect it will be smaller, as I now believe the pipes came to rest where we found them as a result of the sinking of the Romance, and since it seems unlikely any pair on board the Romance or involved in her rescue would have been smoking out of 46+ year old pipes.
LobstaMan
Guest
Nice bit of clay pipe research, Matt. You're probably right about the pipes' vintage, but you never know. They could be older than the wreck. The white man has been dumping stuff into the harbor since the early 1600's. Next time I'm down there w/ BDS I'll take a closer look at the bottom.
That prop noise was very unnerving and ear shaking. And I thought lobster boats buzzing divers was scary!
Once again, thumbs up to Pat and his boat. Two great dives and I'll be back.
LobstaMan
That prop noise was very unnerving and ear shaking. And I thought lobster boats buzzing divers was scary!
Once again, thumbs up to Pat and his boat. Two great dives and I'll be back.
LobstaMan
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